This week, does having tools at the ready make you more likely to actually create? Or is preparing to create a necessary part of your process? Sometimes creativity shows up messy, if it comes at all. Also, is the perception/representation around women in photography changing, both in front of and behind the camera? Depends on where you look. According to Getty, yes. But, based on something that recently happened with Nikon, maybe not so much. Ronan McKenzie is our Photographer of the Week.

This week, we’re attempting to answer some of your questions that range from our desert island photo choices to whether or not ego affects how we take pictures. There are also questions on how to recognize when a project is done and whether or not it’s possible to change your photographic style. As usual, we got some questions that really stumped us, and some that we’re going to have to come back around to after thinking about them a bit. Pete Turner is our Photographer of the week.

This week, can creatives have concrete long term goals or is the nature of making such that clarity beyond a certain point is elusive by design? Then again, if you can’t define a specific goal or end point, how do you know whether you are getting closer or moving further away from where you want (or need) to be? Ruth Orkin is our Photographer of the Week.

This week, does progress take the place of craft, or can things simultaneously move on while still staying the same? Or is the romance and nostalgia of “the way things used to be” just a manufactured memory? Also, how intentional are you about the colors in your photography? The colors you choose (and choose to leave out) can have a dramatic emotional effect on how your work is received. Plus, Sarah Oliphant has been at the forefront of backdrops for decades. Peter Hurley visits her studio to see what all the fuss is about. William Wegman is our Photographer of the Week.

This week, how do you know when you’re making good work? There are so many factors that contribute to the success of a project that worrying about a subjective definition of good ends up getting lost. Is just doing the work — any work — more important than whether or not you call it good? Marvin Newman is our Photographer of the Week.